Scottish Executive

Ambulance Service

Alex Fergusson (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33266 by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 January 2003, how many journeys were undertaken in 2002 by ambulances transferring patients between (a) the Garrick Hospital, (b) private homes in the DG9 postcode area and (c) GP surgeries and (i) Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, (ii) Cresswell Maternity Unit, Dumfries, and (iii) the Crichton Royal Hospital.

Malcolm Chisholm: This detailed information is not readily available. The Scottish Ambulance Service transfers many patients from the Stranraer area to hospitals in Dumfries and elsewhere, including Ayr and further afield. The general manager of the service’s South West Division has advised me that he would be happy to meet with you to discuss ambulance provision in the area, together with the service’s plans for future developments. I have asked him to contact you to offer such a meeting.

Apprenticeships

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many modern apprenticeships have been taken up by residents of the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) Argyll and Bute local authority area in each year since 1999.

Iain Gray: Eighty-eight residents of West Dunbartonshire took up a modern apprenticeship in 1999-2000; 141 in 2000-01; 262 in 2001-02 and 255 in 2002-03 (to end January 2003). The numbers for Argyll and Bute local authority area are not collected centrally.

Criminal Records

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether organisations are still able to have criminal records checks carried out on prospective employees and volunteer staff at police stations and whether there are any plans to standardise procedures for such checks across all police forces.

Hugh Henry: We are not aware of any arrangements enabling organisations to have criminal record checks on employees carried out at police stations. Under a non-statutory scheme introduced in 1989, local authority social work and education departments and health authorities were able to request criminal record checks through the Scottish Criminal Record Office on those being appointed to positions which would give them substantial access to children. The scheme was later extended to cover providers and managers of residential care services for adults, proprietors of independent schools and some voluntary child care organisations.

  The non-statutory scheme was replaced from April last year by new arrangements under Part V of the Police Act 1997. This provides all individuals on request with information on their convictions which have been recorded centrally, as well as additional criminal records information on those in positions of trust or with substantial access to children or vulnerable adults.

Criminal Records

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many checks have been processed by Disclosure Scotland in each week since it became operational and what the average time has been, and is currently, between an application being made and receipt of the disclosure.

Hugh Henry: The information requested is not available for all weeks but the available information is given in the following table.

  


Period Ending 
  

Number of Disclosures Processed 
  

Total Average Processing Time (Days) 
  

Period Average Processing Time (Days) 
  



06/06/2002 
  

1,540 
  
 
 



18/06/2002 
  

3,763 
  
 
 



01/07/2002 
  

2,144 
  
 
 



08/07/2002 
  

2,509 
  
 
 



15/07/2002 
  

1,869 
  
 
 



22/07/2002 
  

1,528 
  

7.5 
  
 



29/07/2002 
  

1,614 
  

8.0 
  
 



05/08/2002 
  

1,904 
  

8.7 
  
 



12/08/2002 
  

2,392 
  

9.0 
  
 



23/08/2002 
  

2,240 
  

9.4 
  
 



30/08/2002 
  

2,679 
  

9.6 
  
 



06/09/2002 
  

1,713 
  

9.6 
  
 



13/09/2002 
  

2,083 
  

9.7 
  
 



20/09/2002 
  

4,542 
  

9.7 
  
 



26/09/2002 
  

2,054 
  

10.8 
  
 



04/10/2002 
  

3,405 
  

11.2 
  
 



11/10/2002 
  

2,623 
  

10.8 
  
 



18/10/2002 
  

4,414 
  

11.0 
  
 



25/10/2002 
  

4,846 
  

11.5 
  
 



01/11/2002 
  

4,979 
  

11.9 
  
 



08/11/2002 
  

5,145 
  

12.5 
  
 



15/11/2002 
  

4,524 
  

12.4 
  
 



22/11/2002 
  

3,732 
  

9.8 
  

8.0 
  



29/11/2002 
  

3,955 
  

10.7 
  

8.9 
  



06/12/2002 
  

3,455 
  

9.6 
  

8.5 
  



13/12/2002 
  

2,804 
  

10.7 
  

9.2 
  



20/12/2002 
  

3,799 
  

9.5 
  

8.8 
  



10/01/2003 
  

8,320 
  

9.6 
  

13.0 
  



17/01/2003 
  

2,905 
  

12.0 
  

8.8 
  



24/01/2003 
  

3,907 
  

10.8 
  

10.4 
  



31/01/2003 
  

4,114 
  

10.6 
  

5.4 
  



  Note:

  The details for 10/01/2003 cover a three-week period.

Criminal Records

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Disclosure Scotland is now fully operational; if so, when it became fully operational and, if not, when it will be fully operational.

Hugh Henry: Disclosure Scotland was established within the Scottish Criminal Record Office to discharge ministers’ functions under Part V of the Police Act 1997. It has been fully operational since September last year.

Criminal Records

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there were any delays in the establishment of Disclosure Scotland and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Hugh Henry: Disclosure Scotland was established last year within the Scottish Criminal Record Office to discharge ministers’ functions under Part V of the Police Act 1997. Those functions are concerned with the issue of criminal record certificates.

  In December 1998 the administration of the day announced that it was the intention to implement Part V on a phased basis starting from December 2000.

  Following devolution we announced that we had reviewed the position and had decided to plan the phased introduction of the new criminal record certificates in Scotland from July 2001 in line with the plans for implementation in England and Wales. This was because we considered the two operations needed to be developed in parallel to allow for as much integration as possible.

  In the event, the necessary operational mechanisms and regulations were not fully in place by that date and the new certificates did not start to become available until April 2002.

Drug Misuse

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to send any representatives to the EU conference, Towards an Effective Policy on Drugs: Policy Choices, Scientific Facts and Day-to-Day Practice, in Athens on 6 to 8 March 2003 and, if so, of what grade and department each such representative will be.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive will not be sending representatives to the EU Conference in Athens on 6 to 8 March. The Home Office, which leads for the UK on international drugs policy issues, is sending a small delegation, which will represent UK interests. Although experts and some politicians will speak at the conference, the UK delegation will not include a ministerial representative. I understand that the conference, which will take the form of a series of presentations, will focus on evidence gathering rather than on high-level policy negotiations.

  The Scottish Executive is regularly consulted on, and fully involved in, discussions with the Home Office at official and ministerial level on the formulation of EU policies that touch on matters falling within the responsibilities of the Executive. The Home Office will feed back to the Executive the outcome of the conference in due course.

Eating Disorders

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when each NHS board will be able to offer patients with an eating disorder an initial assessment within two weeks of referral.

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce dedicated residential units for patients with an eating disorder in each NHS board or local authority area.

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional staff are required in each NHS board area, and at what level, to provide day care support to patients with an eating disorder.

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time is for a patient with an eating disorder to receive (a) an initial assessment, (b) an admission to residential care and (c) care support in each NHS board area.

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which private facilities are used by the NHS to provide residential care to patients with an eating disorder.

Malcolm Chisholm: These are operational matters for NHS boards about which information is not held centrally.

Eating Disorders

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients (a) under 21 years, (b) from 21 to 40 years and (c) over 40 years died as a result of an eating disorder in each NHS board area in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The table shows the number of deaths from anorexia nervosa. No deaths were recorded from bulimia nervosa during the period. Given the small numbers involved the information has not been provided by NHS board area.

  


Age Group 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  



Under 21 
  

2 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



21 to 39 
  

1 
  

- 
  

3 
  

- 
  

- 
  



40 and Over 
  

2 
  

- 
  

- 
  

2 
  

1 
  



  Source: General Register Office for Scotland.

Eating Disorders

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what dedicated NHS facilities exist for patients with an eating disorder.

Malcolm Chisholm: Ayrshire and Arran, Grampian, Highland, Lanarkshire and Lothian NHS Boards provide a community-based specialist out-patient service. The remaining NHS boards provide treatment and support through their generic mental health services. Where in-patient care is indicated patients are either admitted to NHS general psychiatric wards or boards commission services from the private sector.

Education

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the cost of educational maintenance allowances in (a) 2002-03, (b) 2003-04, (c) 2004-05 and (d) 2005-06 and how many young people will benefit from the scheme in each of those years.

Iain Gray: Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) related costs for the years in question are:

  


(a) 2002-03 
  

projected costs 
  

£8.2 million 
  



(b) 2003-04 
  

budget provision 
  

£5.0 million 
  



(c) 2004-05 
  

budget provision 
  

£13.0 million 
  



(d) 2005-06 
  

budget provision 
  

£31.0 million 
  



  EMAs during 2002-03 and 2003-04 will reach approximately 7,000 young people each year.

  We estimate that EMAs will reach 39,000 young people from low-income families by time of full national rollout.

Education

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any circumstances in which, despite experiencing an incident of violence or threatening behaviour, teachers are encouraged or instructed not to complete a form reporting that incident.

Cathy Jamieson: The guidance the Scottish Executive issues, to education authorities, on the reporting of incidents of anti social behaviour and violence against staff in schools makes it clear that all such incidents should be reported. Since 1997, local authorities have been expected to have reporting arrangements in place which ensure the prompt reporting of incidents to the headteacher and then to the education authority.

Employment

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the International Labour Organisation unemployment figures were for (a) Scotland and (b) Ayrshire for the period May 1997 to May 2002 and what the current figure is.

Iain Gray: As of January 2003 the Office for National Statistics have advised that the ‘International Labour Organisation (ILO) unemployment’ figures are to be labelled "unemployment" figures to emphasise that this is the official UK measure of unemployment.

  (a) Scotland seasonally adjusted unemployment counts and rates for people aged 16 and over for March to May 1997 to March to May 2002 (000)

  


Year 
  

Season 
  

Count 
  

Rate 
  



1997 
  

March to May 
  

217 
  

8.7 
  



1997 
  

June to August 
  

212 
  

8.5 
  



1997 
  

September to November 
  

186 
  

7.5 
  



1997 
  

December to February 
  

187 
  

7.5 
  



1998 
  

March to May 
  

187 
  

7.5 
  



1998 
  

June to August 
  

186 
  

7.5 
  



1998 
  

September to November 
  

193 
  

7.7 
  



1998 
  

December to February 
  

183 
  

7.4 
  



1999 
  

March to May 
  

186 
  

7.5 
  



1999 
  

June to August 
  

176 
  

7.1 
  



1999 
  

September to November 
  

177 
  

7.2 
  



1999 
  

December to February 
  

189 
  

7.5 
  



2000 
  

March to May 
  

191 
  

7.6 
  



2000 
  

June to August 
  

165 
  

6.5 
  



2000 
  

September to November 
  

164 
  

6.4 
  



2000 
  

December to February 
  

154 
  

6.1 
  



2001 
  

March to May 
  

148 
  

5.8 
  



2001 
  

June to August 
  

172 
  

6.7 
  



2001 
  

September to November 
  

170 
  

6.7 
  



2001 
  

December to February 
  

168 
  

6.6 
  



2002 
  

March to May 
  

176 
  

6.9 
  



  (b) Table showing annual unemployment data for all people age 16 and over in Scotland and Ayrshire for 1997 to 2001 (000)

  


Year 
  

Scotland 
  

Ayrshire 
  



1997 
  

Count 
  

192 
  

21 
  



Rate 
  

7.7% 
  

11.5% 
  



1998 
  

Count 
  

188 
  

23 
  



Rate 
  

7.5% 
  

13.3% 
  



1999 
  

Count 
  

183 
  

17 
  



Rate 
  

7.3% 
  

10.3% 
  



2000 
  

Count 
  

163 
  

13 
  



Rate 
  

6.4% 
  

7.6% 
  



2001 
  

Count 
  

170 
  

16 
  



Rate 
  

6.7% 
  

9.3% 
  



  Ayrshire constitutes South, North and East Ayrshire Local Authority areas. The number of unemployed for Ayrshire is only available quarterly from September to November 1998 and has been below the reliability threshold for single quarters of the Labour Force Survey. The Ayrshire data is therefore given from the annual local area Labour Force Survey for which 2001 data is the latest data currently available.

  Current Scotland Level Unemployment Estimates

  From November 2002 until mid-2003, unemployment for below UK level from the Labour Force Survey will be based upon pre-Census mid-year population estimates and will only be used to produce seasonally unadjusted data. It will not be possible to compare seasonally unadjusted Scottish data for the latest three-month period e.g. September to November with the preceding three-month period, June to August, due to seasonal factors influencing the unadjusted data. It is only possible to compare the Scottish figures with the same time period for previous years. The latest available seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate for September to November 2002 for Scotland is 156,000 (6.1%). Comparable data for September to November for previous years is given in the following table.

  Scotland seasonally adjusted unemployment counts and rates for people aged 16 and over for September to November 1997 to September to November 2001 (000).

  


Year 
  

Season 
  

Count 
  

Rate 
  



1997 
  

September to November 
  

187 
  

7.5 
  



1998 
  

September to November 
  

194 
  

7.7 
  



1999 
  

September to November 
  

177 
  

7.0 
  



2000 
  

September to November 
  

159 
  

6.2 
  



2001 
  

September to November 
  

167 
  

6.5 
  



  All of these counts and rates are taken from the Labour Force Survey and will be subject to revision in autumn 2003 when revised mid-year population estimates from analysis of the 2001 census will enable the Labour Force Survey to be regrossed.

Fire Service

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to repeal section 19 of the Fire Services Act 1947 and by what legislative means it will achieve this.

Hugh Henry: It will be a matter for the next administration in the next Parliament to decide how to improve local decision making and local accountability within the fire service.

Fire Service

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider funding a fire station in Alness.

Hugh Henry: Fire cover arrangements are a matter for Highland and Islands Joint Fire Board. Following discussion between the brigade and HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services, it was concluded, on the basis of the information available, that there was not a clear case for a new station at Alness and further evaluation was required.

Further Education

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address any low uptake of further education opportunities in Lanarkshire.

Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive is committed to ensuring that further education opportunities are accessible by everyone no matter where they live or their personal circumstances. Our widening access policy aims to break down barriers and ensure that social prejudice plays no part in who gets to benefit from further education.

  We have delegated to the Scottish Further Education Funding Council (SFEFC) the duty to secure adequate and efficient provision of further education in Scotland. We expect SFEFC to allocate budgets to individual colleges, and offer other support and guidance, in a way which takes account of that duty.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the 10 basic rights outlined in The Patients Charter - A Charter for Health , published in 1991.

Malcolm Chisholm: Following a consultation exercise, carried out by the Scottish Association of Health Councils, we concluded that the national Patient’s Charter, introduced in 1991, should be updated.

  We asked the Scottish Consumer Council, with the support of an advisory group representing a range of interests, to seek views on the changes needed. We will be issuing the final draft document for consultation later this month.

Holyrood Project

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any schools and hospitals in the area of the new Parliament building at Holyrood should be bomb proofed to the same standards as the new Parliament building and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Mr Andy Kerr: This is a matter for the education and health authorities, and the police. I understand that Lothian and Borders Police are giving active consideration to the need for additional security measures in the area surrounding the Parliament.

Income

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the average weekly gross wage in Orkney and Shetland.

Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive does not hold any information on the average weekly gross wage in Orkney and Shetland.

  The New Earnings Survey, which collects information on average gross weekly earnings for full-time staff on adult rates, does not have published information for Orkney and Shetland as the standard error of the gross earnings for this area exceeds 5%, which is outside the publication threshold.

Justice

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33010 by Mr Jim Wallace on 31 January 2003, why information on the number of sheriff court cases adjourned on the day of commencement is not held centrally, given that the number of summary criminal cases called for trial and the number adjourned to another trial date were given in the answer to S1W-22603 on 14 February 2002.

Mr Jim Wallace: The original parliamentary question asked for information on the number of sheriff court cases adjourned on the day of commencement and the reasons for these adjournments. Such information is not held centrally. However, detailed information on summary criminal trials can be determined through analysis of a Scottish Court Service information database.

Justice

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to seek a candidate from Scotland for election to the panel of judges at the International Criminal Court.

Mr Jim Wallace: It was agreed in 2002, after consultation with Scottish ministers, that the selection of a UK judge should be by open competition. A public advertisement was placed in newspapers on 30 April 2002 and its terms were drawn to the attention of all Scottish judges. A selection board was convened to decide on the UK nomination and a senior Scottish judge was part of the selection panel. I believe these arrangements are appropriate and provide Scottish judges with the opportunity to put themselves forward for consideration.

Justice

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements it will put in place to ensure that candidates from Scotland are considered in future for election to the panel of judges at the International Criminal Court.

Mr Jim Wallace: It has now been established that nomination should be by way of open competition and public advertisement of the post. These arrangements worked well in 2002 when the Scottish judiciary were represented on the selection panel. Scottish ministers will seek to ensure that they will apply on any future occasion.

Legal Aid

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times it has received representations from the Association of Independent Law Accountants, or any law accountants, relating to legal aid reform.

Mr Jim Wallace: I received copies of papers by the Association of Independent Law Accountants, which were sent to me by a member of this Parliament, on three occasions since last September. The association has not, however, written directly to me on any occasion before or since then. It has, however, been in correspondence with my officials, and my officials and officials of the Scottish Legal Aid Board met representatives of the association to discuss its views on 6 February.

Legal Aid

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been paid to law accountants out of the legal aid fund in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Jim Wallace: Law accountants are paid by the solicitors for whom they provide services, not by the Legal Aid Fund.

Multiple Sclerosis

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the waiting times are in each NHS trust for an appointment with a consultant neurologist for an assessment to identify whether a multiple sclerosis patient would benefit from beta interferon treatment.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on waiting times for out-patient appointments with a consultant is collected centrally at specialty level only.

NHS Hospitals

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the status of Yorkhill Hospital NHS Trust.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has no plans to review the status of Yorkhill NHS Trust.

NHS Waiting Times

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action will be taken to address the length of waiting times in accident and emergency departments.

Malcolm Chisholm: A number of actions are being taken to improve waiting times in accident and emergency departments. Since 1999, an additional £12 million has been invested in new and refurbished units. In addition, a number of areas have plans for new minor injuries units, staffed by nurses, which will stream some of the "walking wounded" cases away from busy accident and emergency centres, leaving staff more time to treat ill and injured patients. Moreover, NHS 24 should have a positive impact on accident and emergency waiting times as it is rolled out across Scotland.

Pharmacies

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will not implement the recommendations in the report by the Office of Fair Trading, The control of entry regulations and retail pharmacy services in the UK, on community pharmacy contracts and proceed with its own plans for the development of community pharmacy services.

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many community pharmacies will close in rural and suburban areas if the planned pharmacy contract approach does not proceed in the light of the report by the Office of Fair Trading, The control of entry regulations and retail pharmacy services in the UK.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive is currently considering the Office of Fair Trading report in detail and consulting widely with all key stakeholders. It is committed to the principles and objectives of its strategy for pharmacy services, The Right Medicine, including the development of community pharmacy services.

Pharmacies

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS prescription services that are only available from supermarkets and large town centre multiple pharmacies could deliver proper pharmaceutical care to people regardless of where they live.

Malcolm Chisholm: In general there is a good distribution of community pharmacies throughout Scotland, and through The Right Medicine: A Strategy for Pharmaceutical Care in Scotland the Scottish Executive is committed to ensuring that patients continue to have access to a modern network of community pharmacies.

Pharmacies

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to expand the Essential Small Pharmacies Scheme.

Malcolm Chisholm: We have no current plans to do so.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take in the light of the conclusion of the Evaluation of the Scottish Prison Service’s Tendering Process for Social Work Contracts that "contracting between public bodies for services that are themselves complex and reflect high levels of inter-connectivity may not provide the most effective means of achieving a balance between performance and risk that is appropriate and acceptable to each of the parties concerned."

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Overall, the evaluation concluded that while these contracts were working better than the previous arrangements, they could be improved further. The SPS is likely to move to new more operationally and financially rigorous arrangements in respect of the remaining establishments.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce plans for prisoner access to night sanitation in HM Prison Peterhead and what discussions it has held with the Prison Officers' Association on this matter.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  It has first been necessary to evaluate the proposal made by the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) at the time of the estates review and endorsed by the then Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons that access to night sanitation could be provided within the existing staff complement. This proposal did not contain any detailed plans of how such a system would be operated. The evaluation has shown that the proposal was unworkable. The Governor of Peterhead is now developing and costing alternative proposals for access to night sanitation in consultation with the local branch of the POA. These will be examined in the context of the determination of the SPS budgets for 2003-04 onwards. The SPS expect to be able to reach a decision this spring.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-33093 and S1W-32973 by Cathy Jamieson and Mr Jim Wallace on 22 and 20 January 2003 respectively, how it was able to state the percentage of inmates that have mental problems and the number that are in receipt of prescribed psychiatric medication at HM Prison Polmont but not at other young offender institutions.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The information provided which is an approximation, is based on data collected locally at HM Young Offenders Institute Polmont but at no other establishment.

Protection from Abuse (Scotland) Bill

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Association of Independent Law Accountants responded to the consultation process on the Protection from Abuse (Scotland) Bill.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Protection from Abuse (Scotland) Bill was the first Committee Bill of the Scottish Parliament, and the evidence leading to it was gathered by the Justice 1 Committee. I understand that the Association of Independent Law Accountants did not give evidence or offer observations.

Recycling

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what regulations are in place to ensure that the target is met of recovering 50% of packaging waste by 2005, as required by European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste.

Ross Finnie: Directive 94/62/EC requires a minimum of 50% of packaging to be recovered by 30 June 2001. The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 were introduced to achieve this.

Recycling

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to introduce regulations to make it compulsory for businesses to recycle commercial packaging waste.

Ross Finnie: The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997, as amended, already do this.

Scottish Executive Departments

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when its new Environment and Rural Affairs Department office at Broxden Business Park, Perth, will become fully operational.

Ross Finnie: The department’s new office at Broxden Business Park, Perth will be fully operational on 17 February 2003.

Scottish Executive Departments

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional costs have been incurred following the delay from September 2002 in opening its new Environment and Rural Affairs Department office at Broxden Business Park, Perth.

Ross Finnie: There will be no additional costs directly resulting from the slight delay in moving into the new office in Perth.

Scottish Executive Departments

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when its Environment and Rural Affairs Department offices in Dundee, Forfar and Stirling will close following the transfer of work and personnel to the new regional office in Perth.

Ross Finnie: The department’s offices in Dundee, Forfar and Stirling will close on 14 February 2003.

Scottish Executive Publications

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what methods of distribution were used for the summary document of Recording Our Achievements and what the cost of each method was.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive’s distributors, Task Force, distributed 1,711 copies of Recording our Achievements: A Summary with the main Recording our Achievements document and 80,029 copies directly to public libraries, local authorities, NHS GPs, dental, and opticians practices, charities, churches, young people’s organisations, older people’s organisations, and higher and further education institutions. The costs for this circulation included postage, labour, materials and couriers.

  A further 5,200 copies were distributed by Task Force as inserts to the Friday 31 January 2003 edition (issue 231) of Third Force News. Task Force also distributed 10,000 copies of Recording our Achievements: A Summary to Scottish Post Offices; this involved a cost for the rental of Post Office leaflet space.

  Two thousand, five hundred and seventy-one copies of the summary document have been retained by the Executive for internal distribution and to meet further requests from members of the public for copies.

  The costs for distributing the main and summary documents can be broken down as follows.

  


Distribution of main and summary reports by Task Force 
  – 2nd class 
  

£7,411.95 
  



Labour, materials and couriers 
  

£3,714.23 
  



Distribution as insert to Third Force News


£1,762.50 
  



Rental of Post Office leaflet space 
  

£3,000 
  



Total 
  

£15,888.68

Statistics

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty’s Government seeking an explanation for any reduction by the Office for National Statistics in the size of the sample of local authority areas used in its New Earnings Survey.

Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive maintains close links with the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and works closely with the UK National Statistician. The Scottish Executive is a member of the New Earnings Survey (NES) users group and is being consulted on the Distribution of Earnings Review which may result in changes to the NES sampling frame in 2004-05.

  The ONS has given the following statement: "The National Statistics Quality Review of the Distribution of Earnings Statistics (Report No.14) has made recommendations for improvements to the New Earnings Survey. These include extending the coverage of the sample frame for the survey, and reducing known response biases. A project within the Office for National Statistics to deliver these recommendations is now under way. This project allows key users to be consulted on all aspects of the redesign of the survey. Defining the particular needs of devolved administrations will be an important part of the consultation. The project will investigate the basis of sampling and estimation used for the survey and will then make recommendations for the most cost efficient approach to delivering quality estimates of earnings and hours of work."

Waste Management

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what bids under the Strategic Waste Fund each local authority has made since the fund was established to investigate cost benefits from joint ventures between partner local authorities (a) within and (b) between waste strategy areas and what funding was awarded in respect of each bid.

Ross Finnie: A number of local authorities have submitted applications for funding from the Strategic Waste Fund, and others have submitted draft bids for discussion with the Executive. Both categories include proposals for joint working, as follows.

  The authorities in the Forth Valley Area Waste Strategy Group (Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire Councils) have been awarded long-term grant support. Their project involves the development of joint working in procurement of waste management services.

  Aberdeenshire Council’s bid to the Strategic Waste Fund has been assessed and accepted in full. The bid commits the Council to joint working with neighbouring councils in the North East Area Waste Group.

  North and South Lanarkshire Councils intend to implement a joint waste awareness campaign called Waste Aware Lanarkshire. This will involve the sharing of resources between the two councils.

  Other local authorities currently considering joint working include the Midlothian, East Lothian, City of Edinburgh, West Lothian and Scottish Borders Councils.

  I refer the member to the answers given to questions S1W-33265 on 29 January 2003 and S1W-33419 on 3 February 2003, regarding details of funding already awarded. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Waste Management

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what payments (a) have been applied for, (b) are under consideration and (c) have been made to each local authority under the Strategic Waste Fund in the current financial year and what the projected level of take-up of funding is for the remainder of this financial year.

Ross Finnie: I refer the member to the answers given to questions S1W-32238 on 4 December 2002 and S1W-33419 on 3 February 2003, which set out detail of funding awarded for this financial year from the Strategic Waste Fund (SWF), totalling £11,099,300.

  Moray, Aberdeen City, Scottish Borders, Midlothian, North, South and East Ayrshire, Fife and Dumfries and Galloway Councils have submitted bids which are under consideration, but which will not result in funding this year.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Water Charges

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Water Industry Commissioner for Scotland will examine and report on the implications for Scottish Water's tariff structure of the Court of Session decision in the case of Scottish Water v Clydecare Ltd .

Ross Finnie: The Water Industry Commissioner has no plans to do so.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood Project

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-29129 on 26 September 2002, whether the legal advice referred to is still applicable and how disclosure of the documents identified could prejudice such action.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-29131 on 26 September 2002, when Shepherd and Wedderburn WS was first invited to provide legal advice on prospects of recovery of losses from Flour City International Inc and on what date, or dates, advice was provided by Shepherd and Wedderburn WS on this matter.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether Shepherd and Wedderburn WS has been invited to provide legal advice on whether any or all of the losses relating to Flour City International Inc can be recovered from (a) the Construction Manager or (b) any other member of the Holyrood Project Team.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-26071 on 30 May 2002, whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will now state which of the companies on the short leet (a) did not submit a tender bid and (b) submitted a bid that did not comply with the tender documentation, and why each such bid did not comply.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-26072 on 30 May 2002, whether, prior to the award of the second interim contract to Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd (FCAM) in January 2001, the (a) design team, (b) architects, (c) cost consultant, (d) structural engineers and (e) service engineer (i) requested an analysis of, or report on, or any other information in respect of, the tender or revised tender submitted by FCAM, (ii) expressed any view in respect of FCAM and, in particular, the company's ability to fulfil any obligations incurred in relation to the granting of a works package or contract to it, (iii) made any other comments in relation to FCAM; whether, in each case, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will place copies of any such documentation in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe), and whether it will place in SPICe any analysis and/or report that, as referred to in the answer to question S1W-26072, was previously commercially confidential, and, if it will not, what the reasons are for the position on this matter and, in particular, any reasons why such information remains commercially confidential.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, with regard to paragraph 17 of The 2001/02 Audit of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body by the Auditor General for Scotland, whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will give an up-to-date estimate of the total direct additional costs arising after termination of the contract with Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd; in particular, whether current estimates of these costs exceed £3.85 million, and whether there is any allowance for consequential costs associated with the impact of delay in completion of the cladding and windows package and, if so, whether full details of any such allowance will be provided.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what the total cost of bomb proofing in relation to the Holyrood project has been, broken down by works package; what the original estimate of this cost was in respect of each package; whether any provision for bomb proofing was made in each contract when it was awarded and, if so, whether details of each such provision will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, and what the reasons are for any extra costs incurred in each case.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what information the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) has received about (a) whether Flour City International Inc (FCII) is still trading, (b) when the shares of FCII ceased to be listed for trading on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation stock market and (c) whether these shares are still being traded and, if so, on what market and whether the SPCB will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre all information that it has received in connection with the finances of (a) FCII and (b) Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-12638 on 2 February 2001, whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body's position in relation to commercial confidentiality has changed and, if so, what the reasons are for its position on this matter; what contractors (a) have and (b) have not been consulted in relation to releasing individual contract details, and whether all such details may now be released.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-12272 on 25 January 2001, which of the works package contracts let in relation to the Holyrood Project remain uncompleted; whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will provide full details of each such package; what the (a) original and (b) revised completion date is in each case, and what the (i) original estimate was and (ii) current best estimate of cost is in respect of each such contract.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-12278 on 22 January 2001, whether all of the works packages in respect of the Holyrood Project have now been awarded; whether all information concerning the value of contracts let will now be put into the public domain, given that the Convenor of the Holyrood Progress Group stated that, in principle and with the agreement of the contractors involved, such information should be put into the public domain; which contractors have refused to permit such information to be placed in the public domain; what the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body's current position is in respect of the statement made in the answer that "the position should ease in the very near future and wherever possible this information will be reported to MSPs as soon as is practicable", and whether that undertaking applies to information in respect of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what the total cost has been of timber purchased in relation to the Holyrood project, broken down by supplier and works package and, of that total, how much has been supplied from (a) timber grown in Scotland and (b) timber grown outwith Scotland but supplied by companies based in Scotland.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-10162 on 24 October 2002, whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body considers that it remains the case that, on the basis of price and quality, Bovis was the best candidate for the commission of the Holyrood project.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-10163 on 24 October 2000, whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body remains of the view that the appointment of Bovis as construction manager for the Holyrood project was undertaken properly and in full compliance with the existing EU regulations and whether any lower bids were received and, if so, from whom and for what amounts.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the his answer to question S1W-9543 on 21 September 2000, what the total fees for cost consultants for the Holyrood project (a) were projected to be at inception of the project and (b) are at the current date.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-9466 on 19 September 2000 about the degree of detail on estimates and costs in respect of the Holyrood project that can be divulged to MSPs and in the light of developments subsequent to the answer being given, whether more detailed information should be provided; if so, what further information should be provided; whether it is in the public interest that more detailed information be provided; whether public interest in the information outweighs any disadvantages of disclosing it, and whether the information given by the Holyrood Progress Group in its newsletters is impartial, complete and accurate.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-9467 on 19 September 2000, whether the matter of the financial costs of the new Parliament building at Holyrood is of greater controversy than it was in March 2000; whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) will now provide to the public all available financial information; what the reasons are for the position on this matter in the light of the position given in the answer to question S1W-9467; whether it will continue to be the position that documents in relation to the package awarded to Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd will not be disclosed; if so, whether the SPCB will review this position and what the reasons are for the position on this matter, and, if such reasons relate to potential prejudice to any legal action, how any such action could be prejudiced or damaged by such disclosure, given that the legal liability will already have been set and cannot be in any way altered by such disclosure.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-8962 on 21 August 2000, whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will give in relation to each works package for the Holyrood project and in tabular form, (a) the identity of the contractor, (b) the actual, or projected, date of (i) contract award, (ii) site start and (iii) completion, (c) the original estimated (1) cost and (2) value of the contract and the increase in each such figure and (d) the current total estimate and, in respect of any packages for which there is no estimated completion date, what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-5674 on 13 April 2000, how much VAT is currently expected to be paid in total to Her Majesty’s Treasury from the Holyrood project and what proportion of the overall costs of the project this sum represents, showing the estimates given in the answer to question S1W-5674 as comparative figures.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-23571 on 13 March 2002, whether the cost of completing design services that Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd was under contract to provide but did not complete has now been ascertained and, if so, what the current estimated total cost is of such works and services; whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will provide a breakdown of this estimate, and what the reasons are for any variance between the current estimated total cost and the original estimate of £117,500.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-22306 on 31 January 2002, whether copies of the Letter of Intent and formal contract with Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd will now be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre; if they will not, what the reasons are for the position on this matter; if the reasons are that the letter and contract are commercially confidential, on what grounds this conclusion is based; in particular, whether potential prejudicing of any future court action against Flour City International Inc is one such ground and, if so, how disclosing the letter and contract could prejudice any such action, and, if there are other reasons for not disclosing these documents, what they are in detail.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether all documents previously requested in written parliamentary questions in respect of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd (FCAM), Flour City International Inc and the Flour City group of companies generally and their involvement with (a) the Holyrood project works package awarded to FCAM and (b) works packages for which they submitted bids will now be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) will meet the Scottish Information Commissioner to discuss releasing into the public domain all information in relation to Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd and its parent company and their involvement with the Holyrood project and what the reasons are for the SPCB's position on this matter.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-21898 on 24 January 2002, whether it is still the position that there was no available published credit reference for Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd before the contract was awarded to the company; if this is no longer the position, on what date any such reference became available, and whether it was available before the award of the first letter of intent in December 2000.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether Bovis Lend Lease (BLL) sought a credit reference in respect of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd (FCAM) and, if so, on what date or dates it did so; whether BLL sought information relating to county court judgements in England and, if not, what the cost of such a request would have been, and whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has since obtained any information about the creditworthiness of FCAM and/or Flour City International Inc and, if so, whether (a) the letter, letters or any other documents seeking or requesting such information, (b) the replies received in respect of such letters or documents and (c) any memos or other documentary evidence or verbal evidence received in relation to them will be published.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-21898 on 24 January 2002, whether the information obtained by Bovis Lend Lease in respect of Flour City International Inc, including the Highlights of Financial Summary 1994-98, Condensed Balance Sheet 1997-98, Condensed Statement of Income 1997-98 and Condensed Statement of Cashflow 1996-98, will now be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) and why such information has not already been placed in SPICe.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer which were the most recent quarterly accounts of Flour City International Inc received by the construction managers of the Holyrood project before the recommendation that Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd be awarded the contract for MSP block windows and cladding was made, and whether the construction managers disclosed, explained or otherwise gave advice on any information relating to such accounts to any other party and, in particular, to (i) other members of the Holyrood project management team, (ii) the Holyrood Progress Group and (iii) the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body and, if so, to whom, and when, they did so.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-21634 on 22 January 2002, whether the summaries given in the Holyrood Progress Group's newsletters of the group's question and answer sessions have been (a) accurate, (b) impartial and (c) complete and what plans it has for such summaries in future to be prepared by the Parliament's official reporters to ensure accuracy, impartiality and completeness.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-21635 on 22 January 2002, whether the construction managers of the Holyrood project hold any information on the amounts due to sub-contractors of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd and, in particular, on any claims in respect of unpaid debts owing to said sub-contractors and, if so, whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will obtain such information and place it in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether there was any regular arrangement for meetings between representatives of Bovis Lend Lease and Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd (FCAM) about the progress of FCAM in relation to fulfilling its obligations under the works package awarded to it; on what dates any such meetings took place or were due to take place, and whether any minutes of, or other documents showing the matters discussed at, such meetings will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-21636 on 22 January 2002, what contractors other than Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd have used the Holyrood site as their business address.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether companies based in Scotland that expressed an interest in obtaining works packages, or a part thereof, in respect of the Holyrood project were treated fairly and properly; whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) has been kept fully aware of all potential involvement by Scottish companies, and whether the SPCB will now carry out a review in respect of these matters.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-18874 on 12 October 2001, whether any further work has been carried out by other contractors on (a) work initially carried out by Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd (FCAM) and (b) design and specialist cladding services provided by FCAM and, if so, whether he will give full details of (i) the services provided and (ii) the total cost of such services.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer which works package contracts let in relation to the Holyrood project have (a) been completed and (b) not been completed and what the reasons are for any such contracts not having been completed; what the (i) original estimated cost was and (ii) current estimated cost is of any uncompleted contracts, and what the estimated date of completion is of each such contract.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, with regard to paragraphs 6 and 7 of The 2001/02 Audit of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body by the Auditor General for Scotland, when the advert or adverts were placed for the tender of the cladding and windows package for the MSP block of the Holyrood project; whether copies of such adverts will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, and on what date, and by what means, the two bids received in respect of this package were submitted.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer,  with regard to paragraph 14 of The 2001/02 Audit of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body by the Auditor General for Scotland, when the construction managers were first alerted by any member, employee or representative of the Bovis group of companies to any problems and difficulties in respect of the Canary Wharf project that was undertaken by Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd (FCAM) and terminated in August 2001; whether information received in respect of this matter was passed on to any member of the Holyrood project team, the Holyrood Progress Group or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body and, if so, on what date, and whether, prior to award of the contract, references were received from any other member of the Bovis group and, if so, from which member and in respect of which other contracts undertaken by FCAM or any other member of the Flour City International group of companies.

Sir David Steel: The Corporate Body has noted that these 36 questions are in addition to the 113 the member has already asked about the Holyrood Project. Accordingly, I shall write at length to the member in due course, placing a copy in SPICe.

Holyrood Project

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-25404 on 3 May 2002 and in the light of the appointment of the Scottish Information Commissioner, whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) will now make a voluntary disclosure to the Commissioner in respect of information that has been classed as commercially confidential if such information is the subject of a request to the Commissioner by, for example, a member of the Parliament and whether more information will be made public in 2003 than has been made public under existing arrangements and, if so, whether the SPCB will give details of any such information.

Sir David Steel: The Parliament’s position on the disclosure of commercially confidential information has not changed following the appointment of the Scottish Information Commissioner and remains as set out in my answer of 19 September 2000 to question S1W-9469. When the Freedom of Information Act comes into force, the SPCB will be subject to its provisions in the same manner as all other public authorities and claiming commercial confidentiality on material will require to be judged in the context of those provisions on a case-by-case basis.